Congress Votes $10 Million for New Border Patrol Checkpoint

Congress gave final approval Wednesday to a plan to spend $10 million to begin construction of a new Border Patrol checkpoint along Interstate 5, near San Onofre.

The action came as the Senate took final action on a spending bill for the Department of Justice, which includes funds for the Border Patrol. The legislation already had cleared the House of Representatives.

Congressional approval all but assures that work on the long-sought expansion and relocation of the checkpoint will begin in the current fiscal year. President Bush still must sign the measure, but his signature is expected because money for the checkpoint was included in the budget that Bush submitted to Congress in January.

The new, 16-lane checkpoint is not expected to be completed until 1995, and will cost an additional $20 million over the $10 million set aside Wednesday. Federal immigration authorities consider a new checkpoint to be a vital weapon in helping stem the flow of illegal aliens heading north through San Diego County.

Authorities regard the current checkpoint as outdated and ill-suited to its mission. Plans call for redesigning the checkpoint and moving it three miles south.

Critics, however, say the checkpoint is inherently dangerous and that its presence on the heavily traveled corridor has contributed to accidents, high-speed chases and the deaths of illegal aliens who have tried to run across the freeway to elude authorities.